Complex environments including computer systems, software systems, or even mechanical systems like vehicles include a large number of components and have many configuration parameters and options. In such complex environments, a faulty configuration or component may be difficult to detect, due to the large number of components and parameters involved. Therefore, users and administrators in such environments need to be able to identify configuration issues that may cause system problems or explain problems that have already occurred.
Especially, in the case of a dormant problem, a human operator will have a very difficult time if he is to manually analyze every component and configuration in a complex system so that he can detect a defect. It is possible to implement an automated scheme to detect system defects. This automated process, however, requires the manual identification and entry of predefined rules and test conditions by a human operator.
When using predefined rules, a defect or faulty condition may be detected only if these rules cover the defect or the faulty condition. Further, in complex systems it is a daunting and usually an impossible task to manually find the full set of rules to cover every aspect of a system. That is, the configuration space is generally so vast that it is impossible to efficiently test all configurations and identify all the required rules.
Systems and methods are desirable that can summarize a target system's configuration information and provide a succinct report that indicates the possible problem areas in the target system.